


Blinded I can't see the end, so where do I begin?

by strangenessandcharm



Series: Hate the sin love the sinner [Leverage AU] [5]
Category: Infinite (Band)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-04
Updated: 2017-09-04
Packaged: 2018-12-22 03:09:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,766
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11958462
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/strangenessandcharm/pseuds/strangenessandcharm
Summary: Woohyun still isn't convinced that this five man team of avenging angels that Sunggyu has put together can ever reach his lofty goals. Especially when they hit their first capture only a handful of jobs in.Sure, Sungjong says he has a contact and a plan but Woohyun's not really sure they can trust a guy who names himself after a flower.[AKA Leverage AU : The Beginning]





	Blinded I can't see the end, so where do I begin?

**Author's Note:**

> I'm gonna be honest guys for the last couple of monthsI've been ... really uninspired for this au - i've barely written it since January - and with Hoya's departure I think it's time to admit to myself I'm not ever gonna get it finished as sad as that makes me.
> 
> So! I am dumping these two scenes here because I think they can stand alone as a story. I've said a few times that "this is one of the first scenes I wrote" but this is THE first scene I wrote - back when the plan was a 20K oneshot with each job sort of reading like this, a brief 'moment' so to speak - as well as what would have been the Final Scene of It's A Long Way Back.
> 
> I should probably say though since one of these scenes is 12 months old and the other is 18 months old and I've haven't edited them at all there are possible inconsistencies.

 The job is meant to be a simple one. Only a couple of days of ground work, a couple of days for Woohyun to get in and plant his cover, a day to pull it all together. Ten days, tops, Sunggyu promises them before they can go back to whatever they choose to do with their free time.

 

Except for once, Sunggyu’s flawless plan (his words not Woohyun’s) misses something and the seventh day has barely started before Dongwoo and Sungjong find themselves trapped by associates of the marks.

 

“Couldn’t Dongwoo just bust them out.” Woohyun asks, hating to be the one to state the obvious. The other three members of their little crew and crowded around Sungyeol’s monitors in their temporary base trying to come up with a plan.

 

The looks both Sungyeol and Sunggyu send him are incredibly withering and definitely an overreaction, “That would defeat the purpose of the con.”

 

“It’s not a big con,” Woohyun argues, “There’ll always be others.”

 

“We’re not backing out on the clients,” Sunggyu tells him matter-of-factly, Woohyun’s plan has been discounted that part of the conversation is over. “We have to get them out.”

 

“Well we can’t send Woohyun, they already know his face.” Sungyeol tells him and Sunggyu sure as sh.t couldn’t do it.

 

“Well we can’t do nothing and _leave_ them there,” Woohyun snaps taking a deep breath before smiling charmingly, “Once someone actually half competent searches them we’ll all be incriminated and I am _not_ going down for this Robin Hood protector of the poor bullshit.”

 

Sunggyu frowns at him whilst Sungyeol smiles knowingly, “You can walk away.” Sunggyu points out sounding personally offended.

 

“Did you miss the part where I said we’d all be _incriminated_.” Woohyun smiles again, “Because that’s kind of the point, my reputation relies on this.”

 

“Well for the sake of your reputation,” Sungyeol smiles sardonically, “We’re going to need a plan.” Sunggyu opens his mouth but Sungyeol cuts him off, “A better plan.”

 

“My plan was fine.” Sunggyu says looking highly offended. Sungyeol and Woohyun share a tiny grin, no more than the corners of their mouths turning up.

 

“I would say otherwise.” Sungjong speaks up over their coms, sounding like he’s whispering. The way Sunggyu jumps about twelve feet in the air causes Woohyun to shake his head. Honestly what is this guy _doing_ playing vigilante criminal?

 

“Maybe it’s on the players not the strategy.” Sunggyu says haughtily.

 

“Do you think we made a mistake?” Dongwoo’s voice also filters over the comms, sounding hurt and guileless. Woohyun watches with interest as Sunggyu’s shoulders almost droop in guilt. Honestly he wishes he’d thought the play the same game as Dongwoo, it’d get him so much further.

 

“No, no of course not.” Sunggyu basically trips over his words to assure their hitter, and Woohyun smiles again as Sungyeol has to hide his laughter in his elbow. “There were just unaccounted for variables. I’ll get you out of there just give me a minute.”

 

“A minute is about all you’re going to get.” Dongwoo tells him, still sounding bafflingly cheerful but maybe also slightly worried.

 

“I’ve got an idea.” Sungjong speaks up startling all of them, “Or well, I know someone who can help. But someone else is going to have to contact him on my behalf,” he says wryly, “we’re a little bit tied up now.”

 

-

 

It takes Sunggyu five minutes to interrogate Sungjong about how well he knows and trusts this guy, as if Sunggyu had trusted any of _them_ a month ago (as if he trusts any of them further than he can throw them now) before he finally relents and agrees to contact him. Woohyun is pretty sure he only agrees so easily because they _really_ don’t have any other option.

 

So five minutes of interrogation, or as close to interrogation as you can do when your target is probably on your side, locked up by someone else not even in the room and also one of the best thieves going around, pass before Sungjong is snapping how to contact this mysterious “Hoya” and sending them on their way.

 

Not that they can’t contact him and Dongwoo yet, Woohyun’s pretty sure they’re listening in as Sunggyu contacts this mysterious stranger, explains the situation and agrees that Woohyun and Sungyeol will go meet him so they can break the other two out. They’re listening as Sungyeol snarks at Sunggyu he just doesn’t want to have to deal with Sungjong’s fury when they get them out, they’re just choosing not to add their two cents.

 

As no one _really_ knows what the situation is like where they’re being held that’s probably wise.

 

Sunggyu lectures _them_ for a further ten minutes on the importance of following his plan to the letter this time so no one else ends up out of commission before they’re off.

 

When they get to the park they’ve agreed to meet at they find a picnic rug set up under a one of the biggest but most out of the way trees in the park. It’s a good spot, Woohyun thinks, as the boy sitting at it waves them over like old friends.

 

A flower codename is fitting for him, Woohyun thinks as they approach him, he looks like a flower boy though perhaps not a Hoya.

 

The park is relatively empty, except for a teenager with his hood pulled up and headphones jammed in a couple of benches down from their spot, and a group of young mothers herding around a small flock of rowdy children too young to be in school yet across the other side of the fountain from them.

 

“Hi.” The boy says to them, with a little smirk, “Which one of you is Sungyeol?”

 

“That’s me,” Sungyeol says, voice steady as the two of them sit down so as not to be acting suspiciously in any way.

 

“Good. Okay, can we start now?” He asks, sounding impatient. “Any changes to the plan from the phone?”

 

“No,” Sungyeol shakes his head, “Pretty simple transfer and run. But you might want to stick around for another five minutes so no one thinks this whole set up is weird.”

 

“This whole set-up is weird.” Flower boy tells him with a little incline of his head, but he doesn’t make a move to get up. Yet.

 

Instead they sit through what would probably be an awkward fifteen minutes for any normal person but is just a day in Woohyun’s life, before flower-boy gets up with a little wave towards them and disappears.

 

Sungyeol and Woohyun then basically have to sit and wait for the next hour, watching the teenager start jamming to his music before remembering he’s meant to be moody and crossing his arms over his chest. They also watch as the group of mothers chase the kids around the park, trying to keep them from face planting into the fountain.

 

“If they’re dumb enough to fall in, we probably don’t want them reproducing,” Sungyeol mutters to him under his breath at one point. Woohyun tries not to laugh, drowning children isn’t a laughing matter, but Sungyeol’s tone is so dry.

 

Eventually their attention is caught by a loud whistling noise and the two of them turn their heads in unison to find flower boy walking towards them, waving with a cheerful smile.

 

Dongwoo is following behind him smiling widely with Sungjong trailing further behind looking pensive and concerned. Woohyun doesn’t worry about that though because that seems to be Sungjong’s default expression, probably trying to seem older and more mature as the youngest in the team or something cliche like that; Woohyun’s found it makes life easier when he doesn’t bother to psychoanalyse the people he’s working with - especially when it’s such a tentative arrangement as it is.

 

“That was awesome,” they can here Dongwoo say as the trio get within hearing distance of them, “He was so good, did you see that Woohyun, he was so good.”

 

“Yeah, well I’m out of here then,” Woohyun says, making no move to get up, “I’m sure returning to a life of crime would be much more profitable and fulfilling anyway. Flower boy can take my job”

 

“But Sunggyu thinks that this is fulfilling for your conscious and underneath you’re just a big marshmallow.” Dongwoo told him sincerely.

 

“Sunggyu overestimates my morals and underestimates how much I enjoy riling him up.” Woohyun smiles right back.

 

Dongwoo, as Woohyun has found is prone to do, ignores him and instead turns earnest eyes, onto Sungjong, “Seriously tell us how you know him and where he’s been hiding,”

 

Flower boy hides a laugh in his hand.

 

Sungjong, rather than looking pleased or smug instead takes a step towards Sungyeol and Woohyun, setting up a clear barrier between them and the flower boy, Dongwoo hovering in between. “I have never seen this guy before in my life.” Sungjong says carefully, “I have _no_ _idea_ who he is.”

 

At that flower boy smiles, a big wide smile that shows off dimples in his cheeks. Woohyun would think there was something charming about it, and deceptively innocent if it wasn’t for the fact that no one has any idea who this boy is or what he wants.

 

“Who are you?” Sungyeol practically barks, going into his second in command zone. The boy doesn’t answer instead just laughs delightedly, like this is the most fun he’s had in ages.

 

“Dongwoo.” Woohyun hisses, but Dongwoo looks torn, like he’s not _actually_ sure this is an enemy.

 

“Tell us who you are.” Sungyeol says, stronger again, pulling a gun of all things out of somewhere.

 

“Lee Sungyeol,” Woohyun whispers furiously, casting his eyes around the park, “You can’t pull a _gun_ on someone in a public park during the middle of the day.” He notices then though that there’s no one around anymore, both the mothers and the teenager having apparently moved on at some point. Still someone could walk by at any point.

 

“No one can see us,” Sungyeol says dismissively, “And this kid really needs to answer my question.” Privately Woohyun’s not sure the kid is much younger than Sungyeol. Now of course isn’t the time to tell Sungyeol that.

 

Flower boy just continues to giggle.

 

Woohyun is pretty sure he’s actually insane, and is about to voice his concerns to the others when out of nowhere a figure appears, manages to disarm Sungyeol and suddenly there’s a gun being pointed in Woohyun’s face. By the teenager he’d spotted earlier, hood still covering most of his face.

 

“Dongwoo.” Sungyeol hisses again as Woohyun gulps. Dongwoo assesses the situation as if he’s trying to decide the best course of action. Maybe he is, or maybe he’s waiting for an opportunity to make his move since there’s no immediate danger right now. Beyond the gun in Woohyun’s face of course.

 

“This isn’t particularly fair is it,” Woohyun says conversationally, as the frown on Sungjong’s face _lessens_ like a gun pointed at Woohyun is less worrying than a gun in Sungyeol’s hand (maybe it is), “I’m not the one that had the gun pointed at your friend, I assume this is your friend?”

 

As if to prove his point flower boy smiles again, wrapping his arms around the waist of the maybe-not-actually-a-teenager with the gun. Said gun wielding stranger doesn’t even blink and his aim doesn’t falter. “No,”he says instead, “But you’re the most strategic target.”

 

This kid has clearly not read anything about the situation here well which is reassuring. Woohyun would not say he’s the most strategic target here, Dongwoo is the best fighter, Sungyeol is the brains of this operation, even Sungjong as the youngest and their thief. Not Woohyun, he’s just the actor. He doesn’t tell the kid this though, doesn’t want to give up an advantage he’s been given, so he just smiles charmingly and shrugs.

 

Dongwoo shifts faux-nervously, like he’s getting twitchy, Woohyun’s sure it’s a ploy to try and tempt this kid, but he doesn’t bite. Instead with his free hand he pats flower boys hand and pulls down his hood. As he does Woohyun catalogues his distinctive features straight away, his thick eyebrows for one, the deeply unflattering bowl cut for another and of the course the smug little quirk of his lips right now.

 

It takes Woohyun just seconds to catalog this before he notices Sungjong bouncing on his feet in the closest thing he’s seen the kid come to excitement. “Hoya-hyung.” He smiles, honest to god smiles (and actually looks his age for once).

 

The penny drops, Woohyun’s ashamed to note it took him this long to get it, and ‘Hoya’ - the real Hoya this time apparently - smiles a predatory smile that shows off sharp canine’s and says, “So is this the part where I say take me to your leader?”

 

Woohyun fights the urge to punch someone in the face.

 

“Hey!” Sungyeol says annoyance, “I’m in charge here.”

 

“Your actual leader,” Hoya drawls. He’s smirking but the effect is kind of ruined by the grinning Koala-flower-boy clinging to his back. “The one apparently in charge of whatever terrible con you’ve got running here.”

 

Sungyeol looks like he’s about to throw a tantrum and Sunggyu, who Woohyun was starting to think had fallen asleep given his complete silence during the whole _gun_ being pointed at him saga, starts to complain loudly over coms about how brilliant his plan was and he’d like to see this punk do better.

 

Maybe Woohyun should punch _himself_ in the face. That sounds so much more pleasant at this point in time.

 

-

 

Eventually they manage to get Hoya and fake-Hoya back to their base of operation, ignoring Sunggyu’s grumbles about how they’re ‘compromising it’s security’ because he’s not the one that had a _gun_ anywhere near him recently (Woohyun is not a fan of guns, when he does his job right and honestly when doesn’t he, there’s never any need for guns). Besides, as Sungjong rationalises, it’s not like they’re going to be in this city much longer.

 

“So,” Sunggyu says once the two intruders are sitting in the two desk chairs facing the ‘team’ as if they’re about to be interrogated. To their credit neither of them look particularly fussed, Hoya looks amused by it all and Not-Hoya has the most indifferent expression on his face Woohyun hardly believes he’s the hysterically giggling kid from before, “Who are you?”

 

“I’m Hoya,” Real-Hoya introduces himself, “That’s L,” He says nodding his head to Not-Hoya, L apparently.

 

“Code names? That’s all we’re getting?” Sungyeol asks in wry amusement. Honestly none of them have ever bothered with Codenames, fake identities sure, but they all know each other's names, so what’s the point.

 

“None of you have been particularly forthcoming with your own names.” Hoya points out, thick eyebrow raising in amusement.

 

“Fair enough.” Sunggyu nods, standing up and ready to do his intrepid leader of the troops thing. Now there’s no real danger (though Woohyun wouldn’t be surprised if Hoya has some weapon hidden somewhere on his body that he’s on the verge of pulling out any one time - besides the blindly obvious knife sheath in his belt). “Why the little charade then.”

 

“L is a better grifter than me,” Hoya smiles again. Honestly Woohyun has known some nasty people in his life but there’s something incredibly intriguing yet dangerous about the smirk Hoya has on him.

 

“You couldn’t just tell us that?” Sunggyu asks pleasantly, though everyone in the room can read the annoyance in his voice - Sunggyu doesn’t like being kept in the dark (Well, everyone except L who seems fascinated by the industrial light fittings and probably isn’t paying attention to anything that’s being said right now)

 

“I didn’t hear from Sungjong himself, you expect me to just _trust_ you and go in blind?” He asks reasonably. It’s a fair point, Woohyun understands, he certainly wouldn’t rush into help someone who said he was helping an acquaintance out of the blue. He could have gone about checking in a less dramatic way though.“How did I know it wasn’t a trap? As far as I was aware Kim Sunggyu was working the other side of the law.”

 

“You’ve heard of me?” Sunggyu asks with a frown, he likes to count his ‘unknown’ status in the ‘criminal underworld’ as an asset.

 

“Who hasn’t,” Hoya snorts, crossing his arms over his chest, “Kim Sunggyu, the righteous man who’s dedicated his life to understanding the mind of the criminal.” His mouth twists into a sneer that transforms his face into one much less pleasant to look at, “Yet much to my surprise here he is laying down in the mud with an interesting band of misfits, Jang Dongwoo, Nam Woohyun, Lee Sunyeol and of course Lee Sungjong,” He nods at each of them in turn.

 

“Very impressive hyung,” Sungjong says with a droll tone, “But I told them our codeword,”

 

“Which is why we came at all, trust me without it we’d have been on the other side of the continent.” Hoya shoots Sungjong what could possibly be a sincere smile. Woohyun isn’t sure. Perhaps he doesn’t feel sincere emotion.

 

“How come you call _him_ Hyung.” Sunggyu mutters under his breath, except not really because everyone can hear him.

 

“We’re not in Korean, I don’t need to call you hyung.” Sungjong tells him matter-of-factly. Which means, Sungjong probably knows Hoya from his days back in South Korea. Woohyun files that information away in the back of his mind, in the file labeled ‘Sungjong’.

 

Sunggyu’s mouth twists unpleasantly but he doesn’t say anything else.

 

“Well,” Hoya says, once it becomes clear Sunggyu actually doesn’t have anything else to say, “Are we going to finish this shit? Hopefully with a better plan so we don’t have to come rescue you all again.”

 

L laughs again.

 

With an extra two sets of hands, and thinking on the fly, Sunggyu comes up with a new plan that gets the job finished by midnight.Woohyun is amused by the fact he is grudgingly admitting by the end of the night maybe they could use the extra hands, if they ever want to team up in the future.

 

Privately Woohyun doesn’t think Hoya will ever agree to work with them again though, based on the look on his face.

 

Good riddance.

 

 

* * *

 

 

**May 2015: The Kontrol Job**

 

Sunggyu had never imagined for a second that they'd really been able to get away from SM. Not when they were so powerful, not when they'd managed to embarrass them not once or twice but three times.

The best Sunggyu had hoped for had been being able to stay two steps ahead for a long time to come.

Two years is better than he'd dared to dream but less time than he'd hoped.

It's what they'd got though and there's nothing he can do about it now.

Not when he's isolated from his team and corner by one very mad, very deranged Kim Taeyeon. 

His team is in his line of sight but oblivious to his situation, at least he's able to console himself with the fact they'd probably hear the sound of him being brutally murdered and escape (not that they have the self-preservation instincts to escape).

Sunggyu wishes he had an opportunity to escape.

“If you’re going to shoot me,” he says staring down the barrel of her shotgun when she's finished her rambling explanation of why he's the weakest, most pathetic enemy she's ever faced (and who carries a shotgun around these days, really), “I’d really prefer you get it over and done with so I don’t have to listen to you anymore.”

For a brief second he regrets that his comms are down because he’d like to show the ungrateful kids that he is in no way a megalomaniac villain, he’s met one of those now and he really doesn’t come close. Of course, for the most part, he’s glad they can’t hear him. He turned SM down and got them started on this path so he’s going to be the only one that pays for it.

“You know what strategic targeting is, right?” she asks him conversationally. The more she talks the more Sunggyu hates her.

He wants to roll his eyes at her, of course he knows he was with Woollim but somehow he thinks that would just annoy,“Take out the leader of a group to destabilise the group.”

Well, Sunggyu thinks as he tries not to look over as his crew totally oblivious to the situation he’s found himself(which is not ideal - anytime Dongwoo or Hoya wants to come kick some SM ass is okay with him), at least her strategy won’t work. The team would survive fine if she shot him, probably, they’d suffer without him since no one was as quick thinking or clever as him, but they’d manage.

She smiles at him, in a way that has his heart sinking to his feet even before she opens her mouth and says, “Not necessarily the leader, just the most strategic target.”

“That would be the leader,” he says dryly, “Though I can see how you don’t understand what being a good leader is like.”

“You may be the de facto leader, mastermind I believe is the term you prefer, in your little band of misguided misfits,” Her smile turns possibly feral at this point, “But at least three of them could take over from you.”

Shit. Sunggyu barely has time to react before suddenly the gun isn’t pointed at him anymore. In the blink of an eye she’s turned the gun towards his team and fired. Sunggyu watches in horror as Hoya goes down, just crumples. Taeyeon turns back to him then, “Him on the other hand?” She gestures towards the chaos of his team, Dongwoo and Sungyeol are running towards them (which she seems unbothered by) whilst the other three crowded around Hoya, or is it Hoya's body Sunggyu doesn't know, “He is for sure the most strategic, target, hit them where it hurts. Good luck bringing your team back from the loss of him,”

She’s still laughing as Dongwoo’s bullet goes through her.

Somehow the sight brings Sunggyu no satisfaction.

 

 

 

 

_All that is left here is the darkness of the night._  
_Where do you run to when you're banished from the light?_  
_We can fall without a fight or we can try to make it right.  
_ _But the rugged road to glory is hardly in out sight._

_It's a long way back when you're halfway to hell._

**Author's Note:**

> I've got another 15K of random scenes (For this & Olympics au) so I guess the Q is does anyone want those published? Or without context are they worthless? (+ about 80% of magical realism au so maybe I'll be able to finish that one, it was my favourite of all my fics in this fandom)
> 
> If anyone's actually reading this after all this time Thanks for sticking with this au/me so long guys I'm so sorry I couldn't bring it to the end (but I guess if there's any Qs about this au/where i was taking it you're dying to know the answer to I'll answer them? Can't spoil something that'll never exist)
> 
> Who knows maybe in like 6 months I'll suddenly be inspired and get it done but I really don't see it happening especially with me going back to uni and everything.


End file.
